Conviction of WSJ reporter thrown out by Turkish appeals court

Wall Street Journal editor Matt Murray sent out the following announcement on Tuesday:

Dear All:

I’m very happy to share the news that the unjust criminal conviction in Turkey against our friend and former colleague, Ayla Albayrak, was today thrown out by an appeals court.

This was overdue. Ayla should never have been put in this position. Her original conviction in October 2017 for a straight and factual story was totally unfounded and wholly unjust. Her work was balanced and it was fair. It included comment from all relevant parties. In essence, she was convicted for honest, objective and irrefutable reporting. In other words, the kind of work that all of us strive to produce every day.

While welcome, the decision is not completely satisfying. The Turkish appeals court dismissed the case on procedural grounds, ruling that the prosecution violated the statute of limitations, rather than addressing the merits.

Legal action in Turkey against Ayla began after the August 2015 publication of an article under the headline “Urban Warfare Escalates in Turkey’s Kurdish-Majority Southeast.” It was accompanied by a video. The work focused on the conflict between Turkey’s armed forces and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, called PKK. PKK is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S., the European Union and Turkey.

I want to pay tribute to Ayla for the unwavering bravery and grace she showed throughout this long and painful ordeal. An unjust prosecution for engaging in terrorist propaganda prompted Ayla to leave her home in Turkey and live for years outside the country. All the while, the investigation, trial, conviction and appeal hung over her head. Ayla continued to work for us from London and Berlin before deciding to leave the Journal in July. We will always be grateful to her.

I also want to thank the leadership at Dow Jones for their steadfast backing of Ayla during this long travail, including the company’s full-court press on her legal defense. That support began with Chief Executive William Lewis and included the entire senior team. Gerry Baker was passionate in pursuit of Ayla’s cause and set the tone for the newsroom. Many individuals dedicated hundreds of hours to her case. I want to single out General Counsel Jason Conti, Associate General Counsel Jacob Goldstein, Managing Editor Karen Pensiero, Deputy Chief News Editor Grainne McCarthy and Nathan Puffer, news risk director. We also are grateful to our local counsel in Turkey, the firm of Herguner Bilgen Ozeke.

The costs of honest, fair and rigorous reporting can sometimes be high. The Journal’s history attests to that. We should remember that we currently have reporters and editors located in places around the world who brave physical danger simply to do their jobs. We thank them, too. The pursuit and publication of solid, impartial journalism has never been more important, everywhere in the world.

We congratulate Ayla for her journalism and for her courage. We celebrate with her this long-delayed victory.